'Jogi' bear nears crowning glory

Joachim Loew heads to Warsaw for Thursday's Euro 2012 semi-final against Italy edging ever closer to the elusive title which would underline his status as one of Germany's top coaches. The 52-year-old, who German fans affectionately refer to simply as "Jogi", took charge in 2006 and has long since been told by Germany's football bosses that his job is safe until the 2014 World Cup in Brazil and beyond.

Having taken Germany to the Euro 2008 final and third-place at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, Spain thwarted Germany's title ambitions on both occasions and la Roja linger again on the other side of the Euro 2012 draw.

Germany have justified their pre-tournament status amongst the favourites here and having brought the youngest of the 16 teams to Poland and Ukraine, Loew's side are now on a record 15-match winning streak in competitive games.

The last time Germany lost at a tournament was when they were beaten 1-0 by Spain in the 2010 World Cup semi-final.

After 10 wins in qualifying for Euro 2012, they won the so-called "Group of Death", beating Portugal, Holland and Denmark in the process then demolished Greece 4-2 in Friday's quarter-final.

"We all agree that in Loew and (team manager Oliver) Bierhoff we have the best pair possible," Wolfgang Niersbach, the president of the German Football Federation has said.